The Shaykh’s remarks on placing lines in the mosque to straighten the rows, the danger of this in the long term, and for worshippers if they pray outside the mosques.

The Shaykh: Despite the fact that it is undoubtedly a religious innovation, and it abolishes a recommended practice, rather, recommended practices, rather, obligations, but these lines, in terms of the long term, are harmful and not beneficial. They are beneficial temporarily in the mosque, while abolishing these lines for recommended practices that should be performed: first, the imam, then the followers of the imam. That is, you see now that the imams do not care about the matter of the people straightening the rows: they pack them tightly, do not leave gaps for Shaytan. These lines suffice them from the burden of performing this obligation. But these lines, as I said: if they benefit, despite their contradiction of these recommended practices, rather, obligations, then they only benefit in this mosque. But when people are forced to pray outside the mosque, they cannot straighten their rows at all, except if you bring them a thread, right? This is not practical. Therefore, the obligatory thing is to train people in mosques without lines to straighten the rows as if they were arranged on lines, so that when they pray in the prayer place, for example, on the festival: the rows are as if they are on a thread. So that when they pray in a place in a house, you will never find... I remember once we went out, and this area, when we prayed the prayer for rain, behind his uncle Abu Malik.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: What is the name of this area on the road?

The questioner: The airport, my Shaykh, near the airport.

The Shaykh: No, it is not, there is a cemetery there.

The questioner: The clouds?

The Shaykh: No, no, before that.

The questioner: The cemetery of Umm al-Hiran?

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner: Umm al-Hiran.

The Shaykh: Yes, Umm al-Hiran.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: Were you not there? You were not, it seems?

The questioner: No, I was not, but I remember.

The Shaykh: Perhaps Abu Muhammad was present. Once we prayed the prayer for rain a few years ago behind the great Shaykh al-Salik.

The questioner: I was not, by Allah.

The Shaykh: I was not that day either!! The important thing is that you find the rows to be one of the ugliest things your eye sees!!

The questioner: My Shaykh, it is a confirmation of your words, we are Abu Muhammad here.

Another questioner: This is also used by us in Abu Malik’s mosque. We also have a similar problem here at Abu Malik, although the problem is more severe here. At Abu Malik, the deviation is less. We have this long window, meaning they made it in this shape, let us say: like this.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: I had an idea that it would also give us a kind of direction, that we put this glass so that it is not all in one shape, meaning, that I have white glass, for example, as a line here in the middle of the window, and the glass around it is dark glass, of another color, so that you feel as if there is a pillar in the middle of the window, the rest is shaded, meaning, so that this pillar also gives us this light, a kind of direction.

The Shaykh: May Allah guide you. Do you think everyone is an engineer, hehehe.